Wanted
by nw21jcc
Summary: Accused of a crime, and with no recollection of your wereabouts at the time it was commited, what do you do when even your team start to doubt your innocence?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor and I making any money from this story.**

**A/N: I'm back again! Just to point out I don't know much about the American Legal system. I tried to make it as realistic as possible but if you know your stuff you may have to suspend belief a little :) Hope you all enjoy this story. Lets get on with it shall we. (Oh, and if Morgan doesn't take sugar, I apologise!)**

**Set anytime after season three/four I guess. But in my head Reid has short hair and Garcia has red - not that that matters much :P**

**WANTED – Chapter One**

Reid woke suddenly, startled at the loud 'beeping' noise his alarm clock was emitting. He rolled over to turn it off and sighed. How tired had he been last night? He remembered getting home after a quick Chinese with Morgan, JJ and Prentiss. He remembered opening his door but after that, nothing. He must have just gone to bed on auto-pilot. He sighed again, rubbing his face and made his way to the bathroom. He started brushing his teeth and glanced at his reflection in the mirror. "What the..." He said aloud to himself. Down the left hand side of his neck he had a long, thin scratch mark. He looked at it for a few moments. How had he done that? It hadn't been there when he left work, had it? Had he done it in his sleep to himself? He turned his attention back to getting ready for work. After showering and dressing, he skipped breakfast and made his way out the door.

(((((())))))

"Morning, Pretty Boy." Morgan greeted Reid as the older man sat down at his desk.

"Morning." Reid mumbled back, not looking up from his stack of files.

"You sound cheerful." Morgan said sarcastically before turning to face the break room. "Hey, Prentiss!" He called to the Agent making herself a coffee. "One sugar!" He smiled as she shook her head calling him a name he couldn't make out then began pouring him a coffee.

A few seconds later she arrived at her desk with two mugs. She placed one down in front of Morgan. "Your coffee, Sir." She said sarcastically before sitting down. "Hey, Reid." She said, having not yet spoken to him. "What happened to your neck?" She asked, squinting a little to look at the scratch.

Reid rubbed his neck with his hand and shrugged. "I think I did it in my sleep." He said, before returning to his papers. "I don't really know, I just kinda conked out when I got home."

Morgan nodded. "It was a tough case." He said, more to himself than anyone else. They had returned from Washington State late the night before. They had caught the UnSub they were after and also managed to rescue the three girls he had kidnapped. It was a tough case, yes. But the outcome had been a good one.

"BAU team." Hotch called walking out if his office across the landing. "Conference room, now."

Prentiss sighed. "We only just got back." She whinged.

Reid closed the file he was working on and rubbed his eyes. "Great." He muttered, standing and making his way to the Conference room.

"I think we need a week off." Prentiss said, starting towards the conference room.

"Amen." Morgan said, following her.

(((((())))))

"Three victims," JJ said, pressing the remote to align the images of the three women. "The first, Angela Roberts, was aged twenty four and from Wyoming. She was found dead thirteen days ago in an Ally in Washington DC. The second victim, Martina Hamilton, was twenty six." JJ glanced at the pictured behind her then back at the team. "She was from West Virginia, found dead in DC. Third victim, Caitlin Harris was found dead early this morning. She was from DC and found not far from her apartment. She was also twenty four."

"They all look alike." Rossi commented. All three women had cropped brown hair, slim faces and blue eyes. "Could remind him of someone? How's he killing them?"

"Strangulation, until they're on the verge of passing out and then he shoots them." JJ answered. "One shot to the forehead. No signs of sexual assault, no beatings." She shook her head.

"So he weakens them before he kills them?" Morgan asked, looking through the crime scene photos. "Why?"

"What's he getting out of this?" Prentiss asked, looking through her own file. "Do you think he's an anger excitationist? Getting off watching them suffer?"

"That or retaliatory behaviour." Reid said, looking around the team.

"Three young women who look that alike." Rossi said, pointing at the pictures. "He's defiantly got a type."

"Dave's right." Hotch said, speaking for the first time, he looked through his own file quickly. "He uses a .38 to shoot them." He closed his file and looked at his team. "But this time, he made a mistake."

"They found skin cells under the last victim's finger nails." Prentiss said, still looking at her case file. "She fought back."

"So we have his DNA." Morgan said, nodding. "Then why do they need us?" He asked. "Once they run it through CODIS..."

"In case they don't get a match," Hotch said, cutting Morgan off. "They want us to work on a preliminary profile." He turned to face Reid. "I need you to start working on a geographical profile, Dave and Morgan can you..."

He stopped talking at the sound of some kind of commotion coming from out side. "Excuse me." He said, leaving the conference room. The team watched and listen to the hushed voiced outside. After a few minutes, Hotch could be heard, much louder than previously. "I said I'll do it." A few seconds later he re-entered the room.

"What's goin' on?"Morgan asked, trying to see who was outside the door.

"Erm..." Hotch looked around the team then at the floor.

"Hotch?" Prentiss said, noticing his uncharacteristic nervous behaviour.

"Erm," He said again, looking at Reid. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" He asked, moving to the furthest corner of the room.

Reid looked around the table. Confused, and fighting the panic that was rising inside him, he silently stood and followed Hotch into the corner.

Hotch glanced at the rest of the team and then turned to Reid. "Reid..." He began in a hushed voice. "I need..." He cleared his throat and looked down at the floor.

"Hotch?" Reid asked. "What's wrong?" He was starting to worry now. Hotch was never lost for words, or uncomfortable in front of people. Reid's mind ran through all the possibilities of what could be wrong. Had something happened to him Mom? Was he in trouble at work? "Hotch." He said again after a few seconds of silence. He was oblivious to the team's eyes watching the two.

Hotch sighed and looked Reid in the eye. "I need your badge and your gun." He said finally. "I'm sorry."

"My badge and my..." Reid's brow furrowed. "Hotch, what..."

"The DNA," Hotch interrupted, wishing to get this over with as soon as possible. "They got a match." Reid didn't speak but looked at him, confused. "It was yours." Hotch finished. He knew the rest of the team were listening. In hindsight he wished he'd taken Reid to his office. But he couldn't, he wouldn't allow the men outside to arrest Reid in front of the entire bull pen.

"What?" Reid said after a few minutes. "Mine? But, I... You can't..." Reid shook his head. "You can't think I did this." He said, frowning.

"We don't." JJ said, looking at he two men.

Reid's attention was drawn back to the rest of the team. They were all staring at him, shock and confusion written all over their faces. "You can't think I would do that." Reid said again, louder this time. "Hotch." He said.

"Reid, I'm sorry." Hotch said. "I need your badge and gun." He cleared his throat again. "There are some MPDC officers here to take you down to the station for questioning." He looked into the eyes of the youngest agent. Hotch could see the panic and confusion in his eyes and was sure it was mirrored in his own. "We'll figure this out." He said, quickly turning to look at the team.

"I didn't do this, Hotch." He looked at his team mates. "I didn't do it." He said again. How had this happened? Last night, he, Morgan, Prentiss and JJ had been eating Chinese together after getting home and now they were looking at him like they didn't know who he was.

"We'll figure it out, Reid." Morgan said, sounding more confident than he felt.

Reid closed his eyes and sighed. He pulled his credentials out of his pocket and handed them to Hotch before handing his gun over. "I didn't do this." He said again.

Hotch nodded but remained silent. He began walking to the door and Reid followed, not looking back. They left the conference room to be greeted by to Police Officers. One of them reached for their handcuffs and Hotch shook his head. "No cuffs." He said in a tone that made the Officers comply.

"Doctor Spencer Reid?" One of the officers, a blonde haired man a little shorter than Reid asked. Reid nodded. "Come with us, please."

The other office turned to walk on Reid's other side. He was the same height as Reid with short, dark hair. "What happened to your neck, Doctor Reid?" He asked, glancing back over his shoulder at Hotch.

Hotch watched the three men exit the Bull Pen and returned to the conference room.

"Hotch, Man..." Morgan said as the older agent sat back down.

"What the hell do we do now?" Prentiss asked, looking around the group as if someone would have an answer.

Rossi sighed. "We find the UnSub." He said flatly.

"But MPDC think Reid is the UnSub!" JJ said. Although her voice didn't waver, she had tears welling in her eyes, still not quite able to believe what had just happened. "Reid couldn't... I mean... He... He wouldn't!"

"I know." Hotch replied, simply.

"So what do we do?" Morgan asked, getting angrier by the minute. "What do we God damn do?" He almost screamed.

"Like Dave said," Hotch said, not looking up from the file he was staring at on the table. "We find the real UnSub."

(((((())))))

**OK, so MPDC don't police Quantico (I'm guessing) but I figured if the murders were in DC they would be involved : ) Let me know what you think. Should I continue? Hope your interest is peaked! No Garcia – BOOOOOO! She'll be in it soon though, worry not ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor and I making any money from this story.**

**A/N: Hey guys... Back for chapter two! Thanks to those who reviewed and added!**

**WANTED – Chapter Two**

"What the hell, Man." Morgan said, slamming his case file closed. "We have nothing to go on."

"Apart from the DNA evidence on the third victim..." Prentiss said, sadly.

Before anyone could speak, the conference room door flew open and Garcia entered the room. "What is happening?" She demanded. "Why did Reid just leave with two Police Officers?" She stood next to the white board and crossed her arms.

"Garcia," JJ began, now sitting next to Prentiss, but no other words would follow.

"Sit down, Garcia." Hotch said softly.

"Is he ok?" Garcia asked, noticing the worried looks on everyone's face. She sat down in the seat Reid had recently vacated. "What's going on?"

"The third victim in the case we were looking at had her supposed attackers DNA under her fingernails." Hotch explained. Garcia didn't speak, but continued to stare at him. "The match came back as Reid's."

"No..." Garcia said quietly, as if to herself. "No." She said again, this time louder. "There has to be a mistake. A false match or something." She looked around the table.

"The victims were all shot with a .38 Revolver." Rossi added quietly.

"And?" Garcia asked, her voice sounding harsher than she meant it too.

"Reid..." JJ cleared her throat. "Reid uses a .38." She said, her voice barely a whisper.

"And?" Garcia asked again. "So do lots of people!" Her voice was beginning to waver as she fought back tears. "Do you even have a ballistics comparison yet?" She shook her head. "Oh God, you think he did it?" He asked accusingly, looking around the team.

"No!" Prentiss said defensively. Morgan remained silent but had a look on his face as if he was unable to believe Garcia would think that of them.

"The evidence is telling us one story," Rossi said, "But it makes no sense!" He finished, frustrated. Reid wasn't capable of killing three women. There was no way Rossi was going to believe it.

"I just, I don't..." Prentiss sighed. "I don't want to be the one to ask the question." She looked at her hands and played with her fingers.

"What question?" Garcia asked, still trying to process what she'd been told. She looked around the group again. "What?"

"How did his DNA end up on the victim?" Prentiss said quietly, as if she were ashamed to be asking the question. "And..." She sighed and looked up, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "How did he get that scratch down his neck? It wasn't there yesterday." She looked down at her hands again and closed her eyes.

"No," JJ said. "He wouldn't..." She shook her head. "This is Reid for God's sake!"

"The kid doesn't even shoot UnSubs!" Rossi added.

"All this talking isn't going to help Reid or help us figure out what's going on." Hotch said, loosing his patience with the team. It wasn't there fault, he knew that. They were in shock. He was in shock. But he only knew one way to help. "What do we know about the victims?"

"Well," JJ began, before Garcia cut her off.

"When were the first two victims killed?" She asked, picking up a copy of the case file.

"The first victim was thirteen days ago." JJ answered.

"You guys flew out to Dakota two weeks ago today!" Garcia said, looking around them again.

Morgan nodded. "The second victim was found eight days ago." He put down the case file he'd just picked up. "We were in Arkansas then." He shook his head. "Reid couldn't have killed the first two victims."

"What time did the coroner put the third victim's death at?" Prentiss asked. "Reid was with Morgan, JJ and me last night until..." She looked at Morgan and JJ. "Midnight?"

JJ nodded. "About that, yea." She confirmed.

Hotch flicked through the file until he found what he was looking for. He sighed. "Two this morning." He said, not looking up.

(((((())))))

The journey into Washington DC was, for the most part, undertaken in silence. The two officers – the blonde one was called Rothbarth and the dark haired one Clarridge – had chatted to each other about this and that. Occasionally they had included Reid in the conversation.

He sat in the back of the squad car, still un-cuffed. His mind had been trying to process what had happened. He'd been arrested, he knew that much. But for murder? He tried to remember what he'd done when he'd gotten home the night before. He'd said goodbye to Morgan. Walked with Prentiss and JJ to Prentiss' car and said good bye. Walked JJ to her car and then gone home himself on the Subway. He remembered all that, so why couldn't he remember what he'd done after he'd opened his front door?

His hand went to the scratch on his neck. Why couldn't he remember?

The car came to a halt and Reid looked out of the window. They were in a parking lot, but he couldn't see a station anywhere. The lot had a few empty police vehicles in it but was deserted of any people. It was behind a long row of buildings, concealed from the road.

"Here we are." Rothbarth said, putting the car in 'park'. Reid looked but still couldn't see a station anywhere. Rothbarth noticed this. "Through the alley." He explained, pointing in the direction of the station.

Clarridge got out of the car and opened Reid's door. "This way." He said, holding Reid by the arm. He heard Rothbarth get out of the car and jog to catch up.

Reid was about to speak when he realised his lips wouldn't move. He tried to turn to get the attention of either of the Officers but his body wouldn't co-operate. Everything started to go black. He heard one of the officers shout, but he couldn't make out what. Then he heard a noise he'd recognise anywhere. A gunshot. He had time to register that it wasn't him who had been shot. Seconds later, everything was black.

(((((())))))

The door to the conference room bust open for a second time. "Agent Hotchner, a moment." Strauss walked out of the room back to her office without waiting.

Hotch looked around the team and followed the Section Chief to her office. "Ma'am?" He said as he entered.

"Sit down, Agent Hotchner." She said, sitting herself. Hotch sat opposite her. "I am aware of the allegations and evidence acquired against Agent Reid and, until further notice I am removing your team from the field." She looked him up and down quickly. "You shall remain at Quantico and be based here until further notice."

"Ma'am, the case..." Hotch began but was cut off.

"I cannot have you investigating a case where one of your team members in the prime suspect."

"We weren't in DC for the first two murders," Hotch said, "Reid couldn't have..."

"Agent Hotchner," She cut him off again. "You're team will remain at Quantico until I say other wise. I'm sure your team has pressing issues they wish deal with here from the BAU." She placed her hands together on top of the desk. "Aaron," she sighed. "You know I can't allow you to work this case thorough official channels. And if you get questioned about anything, it's on your head."

Hotch nodded. Had Strauss just given his team permission to stay in Quantico and work Reid's case? Albeit unofficially? "Thank you, Ma'am." He said.

Strauss went to speak when her phone rang. "Erin Strauss." She said, answering. She spoke a few 'yes'' and 'no's' before looking up at Hotch. Her face was stern as ever but her eyes were full of worry. "I understand." She said before hanging up.

"Everything alright, Ma'am?" Hotch asked.

Strauss pursed her lips before sighing. "The officers that were escorting Agent Reid to the station, they..." She shook her head as if not understanding the situation. "They've been shot. One's in a critical condition. The others stable." She looked up at Hotch, brow furrowed.

"And Reid?" Hotch asked,

"Gone." She replied simply.

That one word made Hotch's stomach sink. Gone? Where? Why? How? Hotch excused himself and headed back to the boardroom.

(((((())))))

"What did Strauss want?" Rossi asked as Hotch sat back down.

"We're staying in Quantico 'til this is sorted out. She's allowing us to unofficially work Reid's case."

"Hotch?" Morgan asked, noticing that the Unit Chief hadn't made eye contact with any of them since he re-entered the room. "What's happened?"

"Reid's gone." He said simply.

"Gone!" Garcia shouted.

"What do you mean, 'gone'?" Prentiss asked.

"The two officers that were escorting him have been shot." Hotch said, still not looking up.

"What!" JJ said, looking frantically around the group. "Reid wouldn't do that!"

"Shot?" Rossi asked.

Hotch nodded, eventually looking up at the team. "One's critical, one's stable." He raised his eyebrows and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "And Reid's gone."

Morgan swore. JJ, Garcia and Prentiss just sat silently in shock.

"This doesn't look good." Rossi said, more to himself than anyone, after a few minutes silence.

"I..." Morgan ran his hand over his face. "I hate to say it, but, erm..."

"But what?" Garcia asked, curtly.

"Are we..." Morgan sighed, unsure how to ask the question. "Are we sure he's ok? I mean, you know... that he's not..." He shrugged awkwardly. "Sick."

"Sick?" JJ asked.

"Sick how?" Prentiss asked, not understanding.

"He means like his Mom." Hotch explained, understanding perfectly what Morgan had meant by the word.

"What?" JJ and Garcia asked in unison. "You think Reid is schizophrenic?" Garcia continued.

"I hate to say it," Morgan said. "But it would explain why he can't remember. Why he would do something like this maybe?" He looked around the group desperately. "I don't want to believe that Reid did this, I don't. But you have to admit it's starting to look more like it." Garcia made a noise but no words followed. "I know Reid, our Reid, would never do anything like this, but if he's altered..."

"We would have noticed." JJ said, bluntly.

"She's right." Prentiss said. "At least one of us would have picked up on it." She looked around the table. "Right?"

"Then what else is there?" Hotch asked.

"Look," Rossi said. "As much as I hate to say this, the evidence that he's guilty is starting to get a little overwhelming." His tone remained gently, "Now he's AWOL and two cops are in the hospital?" He rubbed his chin with his open palm. "I genuinely don't know what to think anymore."

And as much as it pained them to admit it, not of them knew what to think anymore.

(((((())))))

**Soooo... did he do it? What do you think? Will try and update soon! Hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor and I making any money from this story.**

**A/N: Thanks again everyone who reviewed and added! Glad you're all enjoying so far! Now – onwards!**

**WANTED – Chapter Three**

Reid woke up with a start. He looked around the room. Where was he? He was sitting on a single bed in the corner of a room. The room itself seemed to be a small studio apartment. There was a kitchenette in the far corner of the room, a small two seat sofa and television. In the corner opposite the bed was a door that Reid assumed lead to a bathroom. A quick look out of the window confirmed that he was at least still in Washington.

What the hell had happened? Last he knew he'd been in the squad car with Officer's Rothbarth and Clarridge heading to the station. He looked down and noticed for the first time that his clothes had changed. Instead of the shirt and tie he'd been wearing earlier he was now in a white t-shirt and dark blue jeans with a black zip up jacket lying at the end of the bed.

He picked up the jacket to look at it. When had he got changed? That was when he noticed the gun lying at the end of the bed. He knew it wasn't his, but he had no idea where it came from. What the hell was going on? He thought about calling Hotch, or Morgan, or anyone for that matter. But call them and tell them what? He didn't even know what was happening, apart from the fact that he had been accused of murdering a woman. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. He was bought out of his thoughts by the door knocking. He walked over to it and looked through the peep hole.

There was a man standing on the other side. He looked to be about 50's with short, grey hair. He was shorter than Reid and dressed in a casual manner. He was holding a brown paper bag that was full of groceries. He knocked again. "Hello?" He called as he knocked.

Reid wondered what to do for a few moments and then decided to open the door. "Erm...Hi." It came out as more of a question than a greeting.

"Charlie, isn't it?" The elder man asked but continued before Reid could speak. "I'm John. I live next door. Your friend knocked my door this morning." He explained. "Told me you were new to the block and that you weren't feeling well. He asked me to keep an eye on you." He smiled a little. "Figured if you'd just moved in you could use a few supplies?" He offered Reid the small bag of goods.

Reid looked at him for a few seconds utterly confused. And what had he called him... Charlie? And who was his friend? Reid realised the man was looking at him as if he'd lost his mind – maybe he had – and decided it was best to answer the man. "Erm... Thank you." Was all he could think to say. "That's very thoughtful of you." He took the bag off of John and placed it on the small table next to the door.

"You're welcome." John said. "So what brings you to Bedworth Heights?" He asked casually.

"Sorry, what?" Reid asked. Bedworth Height? Was that the name of the apartment block? Was he in an apartment block?

"People here are usually in a, erm..." He shrugged. "Transitional period, shall we say. You know... divorced, fired. Generally down and out." He smiled. "No offence."

Reid did his best to smile back. "None taken."

"See me," John continued. "Wife left me and took all the savings. Pete next door? Drink problem which cost him his job and so on." He smiled again. "You got a story too I'm guessing."

"Something like that, yea." Reid answered, honestly not sure what to say. He had no idea how he'd ended up here. And why did this man think his name was Charlie? "Thanks for the groceries." He said.

John nodded. "No problem. If you need anything I'm next door. Number forty-two." He said goodbye and then left.

Reid locked the door and walked back over to the bed. He lay down, having no idea what to do next.

(((((())))))

Hotch and Morgan rode to the hospital in silence. They were on their way to talk to Officer Clarridge at the hospital. Officer Rothbarth was still in Intensive Care but Clarridge, as it turned out, had only suffered minor injuries.

They walked to Clarridge's room after announcing themselves at the Nurse's station and getting directions.

"Officer Clarridge?" Hotch asked as he walked into the room. Clarridge nodded. "I'm Agent Hotchner, we met back at Quantico. This is Agent Morgan." He said indication Morgan.

"Hi." Clarridge said in response. He was sat up in his hospital bed and wore a sling around his right arm. The bullet, so the nurse had told Hotch, had only grazed Clarridge's upper arm. Although it was a deep graze, he would be released from hospital that evening.

"We're here to ask you about what happened earlier." Morgan said, walking to stand next to Clarridge's bed. "Anything you can tell us would be useful."

Clarridge sighed before he began speaking. "We got to the station parking lot. It's around the back of the station so you can't really see it from the road or the station. I took the suspect..."

"Agent Reid." Morgan interrupted.

Clarridge glared at him but didn't comment. He quickly glanced at Hotch before continuing. "I took him out the car, and Stu, erm, Officer Rothbarth, locked up the car and followed us." He shook his head. "I don't really know what happened next. He took my gun and a shot went off." He was staring into the distance as he remembered. "He turned to shoot me but I managed to get out of the way. He just grazed me. He took off and I followed him a few blocks before I lost him." He shrugged, wincing a little as he did so.

"Is that your official account of events?" Hotch asked.

"It's the same as my statement, if that's what you mean." He replied.

"How long have you been with MPDC?" Morgan asked, still not able to believe that Reid would shoot two police officers and just take off.

"I transferred just over a month ago from NYPD." Clarridge answered. "Stu's been my partner since I transferred."

Hotch nodded. "Thank you, Officer Clarridge." He said before turning to leave.

Morgan thanked him also and turned to follow Hotch. "So what do we do now?" Morgan asked. According to Clarridge's story, Reid had shot the two officers and fled, but Morgan was having a hard time believing this.

"I don't know." Hotch admitted. He didn't want to believe that Reid could but guilty, but he had to admit, although he loathed too, that it was starting to look worse with each passing hour for the younger agent. "Prentiss, JJ and Rossi are out now canvassing the area near the police station, seeing if anyone has seen Reid." Hotch turned to look at Morgan. "I guess we find the UnSub for the first two murders and go from there."

(((((())))))

"This isn't getting us anywhere." Prentiss said, turning to face JJ.

"It's all we can do at the minute." JJ said, thanking another woman for her time. So far, nobody had seen Reid. One woman had offered to save Prentiss' sole from damnation, but apart from that, nothing.

"We have no leads." Rossi said. "Victims had nothing in common apart from their appearance, age and the fact they lived in DC. Geographical Profile wasn't very useful either..."

"The UnSub seems to kill them and dump their bodies wherever's convenient." Prentiss added.

"Hotch'll be finished at the hospital soon." JJ said. "He'll be able to tell us what the Officer said and then we'll just have to go from there." She turned to stop a man who was walking down the street. "Excuse me, Sir?" She flashed her ID badge at him. "I'm with the FBI, were looking for this man." She showed him a photo of Reid. It was his official FBI photo as it was all they'd been able to get hold of as they hurried from Quantico to Washington.

The gray haired man stopped and looked at the photo. His brow furrowed as he looked at it. "Yea..." He said, as if he didn't believe it himself. "Yea that's Charlie." He looked up at JJ, then to Rossi and Prentiss.

"Charlie?" Rossi asked, moving to stand closer to JJ. Prentiss followed suit.

"Yea. The kid just moved in next door to me." He looked at the photo again. "The kid's a Fed?" He asked, noticing the flag in the photo.

"Can you tell us your address?" Prentiss asked, not answering his question.

"Yea..." The man said, reeling it off as Prentiss wrote it down.

"And your name, Sir?" She asked.

"John. John Martinez." He answered. "Is Charlie in trouble?" He asked, "He seemed like a nice kid."

"Thank you for your time, Sir." JJ said.

"You've been a great help." Rossi said, pulling out his phone and dialling. He waited for an answer. "Hotch? We think we found Reid."

(((((())))))

"Ok, got it." Hotch said into his phone. "We'll head over. You go back to Quantico, get Garcia to find out what she can about Martinez." He hung up the phone and turned to face Morgan who was driving. "They found an address for Reid."

"What?" Morgan said, "Where? How?"

"Some guy they showed his photo too recognized him." Hotch answered. "Although he thought his name was Charlie."

"Charlie?" Morgan asked, glancing at Hotch. "Why would he think he was called Charlie?"

"Reid knows we'll be looking for him. Maybe he gave him a false name." Hotch said, not wanting to voice his other theory. If Reid was mentally unstable he could have unknowingly changed his entire self, name and everything. Worse case, if Reid was suffering for some kind of mental break, Charlie could be some sort of alter-ego.

"So where are we going?" Morgan asked, pulling Hotch from his thoughts.

Hotch told him the address and a few minutes late they were outside. The block looked not too dissimilar to others in the area, a little more run down perhaps but not too out of place.

"What's the number?" Morgan asked.

"Forty-One." Hotch said, opening the door and holding it for Morgan.

"Alright," Morgan sighed, "Here we go."

(((((())))))

Reid sat in the bed holding the gun. How had he gotten it? It looked like a Government Issue side arm. He racked his brain trying to remember what had happened but came up empty. He heard a knock at the door and went to look through the peep hole. He walked to the door, gun still in hand. Looking through the peep hole he was shocked to see Morgan and Hotch. What were they doing here? And how had they found him.

He went to open the door then changed his mind. Would they think he had killed that woman? Had he hurt the two Police Officers? Even he didn't know so how could he expect them to believe him when he said he hadn't. But how else could he have ended up here, with a Government Issue firearm that wasn't his? The door knocked again and he heard Morgan call his name. He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. He took a step back from the door and silently wished they'd go away. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't want to see them. Not until he knew himself what was going on. Morgan called his name again. A few seconds later, the door came flying open and Morgan and Hotch barged in, guns in hand.

Hotch immediately holstered his gun when he saw Reid was alone. Morgan, however, didn't. "Reid?" Morgan asked, looking him up and down. "Put the gun down, Reid."

Reid looked down at his hand. He'd forgotten he'd been holding the gun. "I will if you do." He said, not able to comprehend the fact the Morgan was pointing a gun at him.

"Come on, Man." Morgan said, "Put it down."

"Morgan..." Hotch said, but Morgan continued.

"Put it down and we'll talk. Ok?"

Reid dropped the gun on the floor. "Can you stop pointing your gun at my head now, please?" Reid asked. Morgan – his friend, a person who was supposed to trust him, had been pointing a gun at him. If he'd done that before they'd even spoken, how the hell was he going to convince someone who didn't know him that he was innocent? If he ever managed to find out what had happened, that it.

"Morgan, put your damn gun away." Hotch said. He turned to face Reid as Morgan did as he was told. "What the hell is going on Reid?" He half asked, half demanded.

"I..." Reid sighed. "I don't know."

"Two police officers are in the hospital." Hotch continued. "One's critical. The other made a statement that it was you who shot them before fleeing the scene."

"What?" Reid said. "No... I..." He shook his head.

"Where did you get the gun?" Morgan asked, looking at the weapon on the floor.

"I don't know." Reid said, staring at the firearm on the floor. "It was here when I woke up."

"When you woke up?" Hotch asked.

Reid nodded. "I don't know what happened." He said in an almost pleading tone. "I just..." He ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know."

"You gotta come with us, Reid." Morgan said. "We can help you."

"What?" Reid asked, noticing the tone in his friends' voice, albeit a friend who had pointed a gun at him. "Do you..." He shook his head. "You think I'm crazy?" He almost shouted. "Oh my God, you actually..." He shook his head. "I'm not crazy, Morgan!"

"Nobody thinks you're crazy, Reid." Hotch said. "If we take you to the station we can clear all this up. You have a solid alibi for the first two murders. We can find the real UnSub and..."

"Who's going to believe me?" Reid asked. "Two Officers got shot and I was the only other person there and I don't know what happened. A woman was killed and my DNA was found on her..." He looked at Morgan. "Even you think I've gone mad."

"Reid, I don't..."

"You kicked in a door and pointed a gun at my head." Reid interrupted. "You don't do that if you think persons innocent." He shook his head again. "You think I killed a woman and shot two cops. Who's going to believe me when I tell them I don't even know where I was at the time?" Maybe Morgan was right. Maybe he had gone crazy.

"Reid, nobody..." Hotch began, "I don't think you're crazy, Reid. I know you and you're not capable of this. Come with us and we'll find out what's happening."

Reid sat down on the bed and rested his head in his hands. "What if I am?" He asked. Before anyone could answer, a commotion could be heard from the hall way.

"It's MPDC." Morgan said. "They must have found out you were here."

Hotch looked at Morgan. "How?" He asked, but waited for no answer. "Go." He said, turning to face Reid.

Reid looked at him. "What?"

"Go." Hotch repeated. "They'll just take you in and assume you're guilty. Go and give us time to get to the bottom of this."

"Reid." Morgan said, moving to the window and opening it. "Listen to him. Just give us some time to sort this out."

Reid grabbed the jacket off the bed and moved to the window, looking back to Hotch then to Morgan.

"I'm sorry," Morgan said, holding the window open. "The whole gun thing?"

Reid smiled a little. He turned back to face Hotch and then left. Morgan watched him climb down the fire escape just as the MPDC Offices entered the small apartment. "He got away." Morgan said simply.

The officers, who both had their guns drawn, moved to the window. Reid was still visible. "I can get a shot." One of the officers said, aiming his gun.

"Hold fire." Hotch said.

The officer glanced at Hotch then returned to his sight. He looked quickly at his partner who nodded and pulled the trigger.

Morgan knocked the gun out of his hands and Hotch moved over quickly to pick it up. He looked about the window but Reid was gone. "I said hold your fire, Officer!" Hotch said, eyeing the man.

"I know he's one of you," the Officer who had fired said. "But fed or not, that guys a cop killer." He looked at his partner. "A shooting too good for him."

"Sorry, what?" Morgan asked, nit sure he'd heard right. "A cop killer?"

The officer nodded. "Stu Rothbarth's dead."

(((((())))))

**So... any good? I know maybe Morgan wouldn't hold his gun to Reid but it's a story, and the rest of the Team are just as confused as Reid. Also, Morgan's not sure if Reid is, well, Reid and so on :p And like I've said before, I do love a bit of confrontational angst : ) But the question is, did Reid do it? And has he been shot or did he get away in time? **


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor and I making any money from this story.**

**A/N: Thanks again everyone who reviewed and added! **

**WANTED – Chapter Four**

"You let him gone alone!" JJ shouted at Morgan and Hotch. They were all back in the conference room with the exception of Garcia who was finding out as much as she could about John Martinez and the apartment block they'd found Reid in.

"What were we supposed to do?" Morgan asked. "Go with him?"

JJ nodded her head. "Yes!" She cried.

"You know we couldn't have done that." Hotch said, looking at her across the table. "If one of us had gone with him we would have been implicated, and it would have made it more difficult for any of us to work this case."

The team sat in silence for a few moments.

"So, what did you find out?" Rossi asked. "What did Clarridge have to say?"

"That Reid shot them both." Morgan said flatly.

"No..." JJ shook her head. "He wouldn't do that."

"What did Reid say?" Prentiss asked. "And why are people calling him Charlie?"

"Reid didn't know what had happened." Hotch answered. "He didn't even seem to know that the Officers had been shot."

"Yea," Morgan added. "He didn't seem to have any recollection of how he'd gotten there, or how he ended up with a MPDC gun."

"He had the gun?" JJ asked, sounding shocked.

"He said it was just there when he woke up." Hotch said, running his hand through his hair.

"Woke up?" Rossi asked, looking puzzled.

"What are you thinking?" Prentiss asked, eyeing the older profiler.

"'Waking up' with no memory of what's happened would suggest some kind of blackout, or..." He tailed off, not finishing the thought.

"Dave?" Hotch urged.

Rossi sighed, "DID." He said simply.

"What?" JJ and Prentiss exclaimed in unison.

"You think Reid has Multiple Personality?" Morgan asked. "No," He shook his head. "One of us would have seen something. That kind of thing doesn't just pop up overnight."

"I don't like thinking it either," Rossi said, "But look at the facts. He has no recollection of places or events. He's known to other by a different name. He has an apartment that..."

Before Rossi finished his sentence, Hotch had picked up the phone.

"Hotch?" Prentiss asked. The older man ignored her and waited for the phone to be answered.

"Y'ello." Garcia said over the speaker phone.

"Garcia," Hotch said, paying no attention to the looked he was receiving from the other team members. "Have you found anything?"

"No, sorry." The Tech answered. "Martinez was divorced seven months ago, his wife took everything but apart from that he's squeaky clean."

"I need you to run a check on Reid's bank records." Hotch said.

"Wh... What?" Garcia stuttered. "Sir, its Reid. I can't just..."

"Do you want him to go to prison?" Hotch asked bluntly.

" No, sir!" Garcia exclaimed. "But I can't..."

"You can Garcia, you have to." Hotch reassured her. "I need to see if he has any unusual expenditure. He was in an apartment. I need to know if he paid a deposit for it, and if so when. Somebody was renting it from somewhere. I need you to find out what name that apartment was rented in."

Garcia was silent for a few moments. "O... okay." She said. The team could here her fingers at work.

Hotch looked at the rest of the team. "If we find out who's renting the apartment that could answer a few questions for us."

"I hope so." Prentiss muttered, still unable to believe the surreal situation they had found themselves in.

"Ok," Garcia's voice came over the speaker. "No unusual activity on his account from what I can see. Salary goes in, rent comes out. Money for where his Mom lives goes out every month on the same day." She chuckled a little. "A lot of take-out food and not a lot of grocery shopping." She sighed. "But nothing else. No large deposits or withdrawals."

"Who's the other apartment rented too?" Rossi asked.

Garcia could be heard typing again. "That would be Charles Thomas. Paid his deposit and two months rent upfront in cash."

"That's Charlie." Prentiss said, although she knew it wasn't really much help.

"So where does that leave us?" JJ asked.

"If Reid had no large withdrawals," Hotch said. "It's unlikely he paid for the apartment."

"Which means someone else did." Morgan said, sounding more like he was asking a question than making a statement.

"There's a video." Garcia piped up. "The little window that these kind of places always have with the grumpy looser guy who sits behind it? It's covered by a security camera. If I go back to the day the apartment was rented on I can see who paid him the deposit..." More typing way heard. "Bingo. Hang on a sec..."

A few seconds later, the screen in the corner of the room came to life with an image of the apartment block foyer.

"Ok, we got it," Morgan said. As the words left his mouth the video began.

"This," Garcia said, pausing the video. "Is the man who rented apartment forty two." She said, sounding triumphant.

"That's not Reid." JJ said. Although the man was about the same height as Reid, he was much stockier. He was wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap but a small amount of black hair could be seen peaking out from the back of the cap.

"No," Hotch said. "It's not."

"So what does this mean?" Prentiss asked, staring at the image on the screen.

"I think Reid's being set up." Hotch said simply.

(((((())))))

Garcia disconnected the call and turned to face her monitor. "If you're the sick son of a bitch that's trying to ruin my friend's life," She said to the still image. "Then I will hunt you down and kill you myself." She snarled, holding her pencil with such force it snapped. "Oh!" She jumped a little, shocked that she'd snapped it clean in two. She glanced back at the screen before her phone Rang. "Garcia." She said simply, not in the mood for any witty remarks.

"Garcia?" A familiar voice said at the other end of the phone.

Garcia dropped her pencil in shock.

(((((())))))

Reid ran. He ran through ally ways and cut outs. He ran as long as he could run before he felt like he was going to pass out. Morgan and Hotch had let him go. Did that mean they believed him? He came to a stop and rested against a wall, breathing heavily. He closed his eyes and leant his head back against the wall.

After a few seconds he became aware of a sharp pain in his left hand side. For a second he dismissed it as a simple stitch from running, but after a few more seconds he realised it wasn't. Opening his eyes he looked down. He was shocked to see his white T-shirt was now half covered in red. He stared for a few seconds more before he realised it was blood.

He carefully lifted his T-shirt up, wincing as he did so. Had he been shot? He'd have noticed, surly? Statistics about adrenaline and it's affects on the body began running through his mind. He was suddenly aware of how tired he was. He slumped down the wall, muffling a pained cry as he hit the floor. He looked down at his side. About two inches in from his waist he had, indeed, been shot. Three inches over and it would have missed him. "Great." He muttered to himself. He sat for a few moments before pulling on his jacket. At least that would stop him drawing any more attention to himself in anyone passed.

What was he supposed to do now? He knew he should go to a hospital. But he also knew, the second he did he'd be handcuffed to a gurney faster than lightning. But he needed help, he couldn't pretend he didn't. He swore when he realise he had no phone or money. That made it a little more difficult than it already was. He pulled the jacket closer around him, suddenly feeling cold. As he did so, he heard a small 'clanking' noise in the pocket. He carefully opened it so as not to jar his side too much. He winced again as he pulled his hand out. He opened it to find about four dollars worth of change. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make a phone call.

But who to phone? He couldn't phone any of the team. If they helped him they'd be incriminated. And if he had been the one hurting people, then they'd end up going to prison with him. So who did that leave him with? He closed his eyes and rested his head back again, grimacing as a wave of pain went through him. He just wanted to go home, back to his apartment.

His eyes shot open. His apartment. There was a security camera on the door of his apartment. If he could get hold of the video he'd know if he'd left the block or not last night. If he hadn't, then he couldn't have hurt the girl.

He tried to remember where the nearest payphone would be. After a few minutes he remembered one not too far away that he'd seen. He slowly stood and made his way there.

(((((())))))

"Garcia?" A familiar voice said at the other end of the phone.

Garcia dropped her pencil in shock. "Re...Reid?"

"Yea." He said, quietly. "I need your help."

"Are you ok?" She asked. Something wasn't right; she could hear it in his voice. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm... I'm fine." He said, breathing heavily. "I need you to check a video for me, but..." He stopped talking.

"Reid?" Garcia asked, worried. "Reid, what's wrong?"

"If you help me, and they... they find me guilty, then you..."

"I know, I know," Garcia interrupted. "Accomplice and all that..." She said. "Whatever. What do you need?" she didn't care if she ended up being arrest for helping him. He was her friend and something, more than the obvious, was wrong with him.

"Can you access the security footage from the camera on my apartment entrance? Last night." He though about what time he got home. "About twelve-thirty?"

"Sure." She said, typing away. She cringed as she heard him cough on the other end of the line. "Reid what's wrong?" She tried again.

"I'm fine." He said simply, after a few moments of silence. He wasn't, he knew that. But that last thing he wanted was to worry the rest of the team. Even more than they were, of course.

"Ok, go it." Garcia said after a few seconds. "Oh..."

"Oh?" Reid asked, coughing a little more.

"Sweetheart, you go in." She said. "And then a guy walks up behind you and the screen goes black."

"Black?" Reid asked, confused.

"Yea, black." She said again. "Like it's been covered by something. A cloth or paint," She leant closer to the screen to look. "It's hard to tell."

"Someone followed me in?" He asked, his voice thick with confusion.

"Looks that way, honey." Garcia said. "It looks like the same guy from before." She said, zooming in on him a little.

"Before?" Reid asked.

Garcia was quiet for a few moments. "Where are you?"

"What?" Reid asked, even more confused by the sudden change of topic.

"Can you be at my apartment in the next twenty minutes?" She asked. "I have some things to show you."

"Erm... if I got a cab, but I don't have any money." Reid answered. He rested his head against the glass of the payphone. He just wanted to sit down. It hurt less to sit down.

"That's fine." Garcia said, shaking her head even though Reid couldn't see her. "There's a key taped to the bottom of the plant pot outside my door. In the dresser in the hallway, right hand draw, there's some money. You can use it to pay the cab."

"Garcia, I can't..." He started, but was cut off.

"I'm not arguing with you." She said sharply. "You will do what I've told you too and I will see you in twenty minutes." She hung up the phone before he could argue more. Now she just had to work out how to slip out of work for a while.

(((((())))))

Reid hung up the phone and made his way to the nearest taxi rank. What the hell was going on? What man had Garcia seen in the video? And what was the other video she was on about? He bit his lip as walking sent a fresh wave of pain through his side. He was glad for the dark jeans and black jacket so that people couldn't see the blood that was slowly seeping through them. He found a taxi rank and slowly climbed in the back of a waiting cab, giving the driver Garcia's address. He closed his eyes and hoped Garcia had found him some answers.

(((((())))))

"Hey, guys." Garcia said, entering the conference room.

"Garcia," Hotch greeted her. The four were still sat around the conference room, folders and pictures scattered on the table. They so far had been unable to identify the man in the video and were still no closer to finding the original UnSub.

"I, erm..." Garcia began nervously. "I have to go home for an hour or so."

"What?" Prentiss asked, looking up from the file she was reading.

"Yea, sorry." Garcia said apologetically. "My apartment flooded and I have to go sort a few things out."

"Garcia," JJ said. "At a time like this?"

"It's fine," Hotch said, not looking up. "Go."

"Thank you." Garcia said, leaving the room. She hated lying to them. But she couldn't tell them she was going to meet Reid. They'd all want to come. And if they got involved then they'd run the risk of being implemented too. No, she couldn't let them do that. She knew how much they wanted to figure out what was happening, but they wouldn't be able to help Reid if they were behind bars.

She nodded, trying to convince herself she was doing the right thing, and headed towards the elevator.

(((((())))))

**Ooh... So let me know what you think. Hope you enjoyed and you're still sticking with me! I know the time line if a little off with this, I mean, Morgan and Hotch getting back before Reid phones Garcia and what not but that's how it came out and changing it would muck up stuff and what not :)**

**Until next time! **


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor and I making any money from this story.**

**A/N: Thanks again everyone who reviewed and added! I know originally I said this was set between series three and four but I changed it :P Its' set anytime after JJ comes back off maternity leave. Doesn't really matter much, but thought I'd let you know. You'll see why.**

**WANTED – Chapter Five**

Garcia arrived at her apartment block just as a cab pulled up. She parked her car and made her way over to pay the driver when she saw Reid sitting in the back. The driver thanked her and drove off.

"Well that was good timing." She said, turning to face her friend. "Oh my God, Reid." She said as she took in his appearance. He looked paler than normal and was breathing heavily. His skin looked clammy and she noticed he was holding his right arm across his body to his left side. "What..." She looked at his hand and noticed it was covered in blood. "What happened?" She asked, tears filling her eyes at seeing her friend in such a way.

"Can we..." Reid winced a little. "Can we go inside, please?"

"Erm..." Garcia looked from Reid to the door then back. "Yea... yea. Come on." She put her arm gently around his waist, supporting him as they walked to the door. She fumbled with her keys for a few seconds before finding the right one and opening the door. She guided Reid to the sofa and felt another wave of tears fill her eyes when he hissed in pain. He closed his eyes and rested his head back.

"Reid..." She said softly, kneeling down in front of him. "How did you get hurt? What happened, sweetheart?" She gently placed her hand on his knee.

"I..." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I got shot."

Garcia stared at him for a few moments before registering what he'd said." Sho... Shot?" She choked out. "Oh my Gog, oh my God..." She took a deep breath trying to calm herself. "Ok, ok... we have to take you to hospital." She said, standing.

"No!" Reid said, grabbing her hand and wincing at the movement. "I can't go to the..." He coughed a little. "The hospital. Not yet."

"Reid," She knelt back down. "You're shot and you're bleeding and you're hurt and you need help."

Reid shook his head, letting go of her hand. "It's not that bad." He said quietly.

"Reid, I've been shot. I know it hurts." She said, her voice calmer than before. "We have to go."

Reid shook his head again.

Garcia sighed. She wanted nothing more than to pull him into a big hug and tell him everything would be ok. She wanted to take him to the hospital. She wanted to rewind time so none of this had ever happened. She wiped away the lonesome tear that had fallen down her cheek. "Being stubborn is going to kill you." She said gently. She knew why he didn't want to go. He'd be arrested and now they thought he'd killed a Police Officer that would not end well for him. She reluctantly resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't be getting him to a hospital anytime soon. "Will you at least let me look at it?" She asked, trying her best to smile reassuringly at him.

Reid thought for a moment or two before nodding. He knew deep down that he should be in a hospital and that Garcia was right. But he knew he'd be arrested, and that, without any evidence or him being about to account for his whereabouts they'd lock him away. Or think he was insane. Neither option was too appealing. He knew that the team were working on things and he trusted them to figure it out.

"Honey," Garcia said, bringing him out of his Thoughts. "You're gonna have to take your jacket off at least." She said softly.

Reid nodded. He sat forward slowly, biting his lip as it made his side scream in silent protest. He unzipped it and Garcia helped him pull it off his arms.

"Oh my God, Reid." Garcia said as she saw his blood soaked t-shirt for the first time. "Please..." She said, letting a few tears fall from her eyes. "Let me take you to the hospital."

Reid breathed heavily for a few minutes. "Later." He said quietly. He closed his eyes trying to block out the pain that was radiating from his side.

Garcia stared at him for a few seconds. "Ok..." He let out a breath. "Ok. I'll go see what I have in the medicine cabinet. Erm..." She stood, not really sure what to do. "You... you'll have to take your shirt off. I erm..." She looked around again. "Medicine cabinet." She said again, before leaving the room.

She returned a few minutes later with her arms full of supplies. "Ok," She placed them down on the floor next to the sofa and knelt down next to them. "I have some bandages left over that I was given from my shoulder. Erm... some antiseptic. A few pain killers. But that's it." She looked up at him and noticed he was still wearing his t-shirt, although now he was leaning forwards with his arms wrapped around his middle. "Reid, if the..." She cleared her throat as yet more tears threatened to fall. "If the bullets still in there we really, and I mean really, need to go to the hospital. Ok?"

He raised his head to look at her and nodded.

"Do you need me to help with your shirt?" She asked. He nodded again. "Ok." She took a deep breath. Why had it been her he'd called? She was no good in these sorts of situations. Prentiss, she'd have been good. She'd have managed to make him go the hospital. Morgan, he would have done so too. She gently pulled his t-shirt up, making Reid cry out a little as the movement jarred his injured side. She stopped immediately. "Ok, ok..." She thought frantically trying to come up with a plan. Any plan. "Scissors." She said to herself, disappearing to the kitchen. She returned with a pair of kitchen scissors and began cutting his shirt away. "You know, I though the first time I saw you half naked would be a little more romantic than this if I'm honest." She looked up at him smiling a little and was glad to see he was smiling also.

She set to work cleaning the wound as best she could with what she had. She tried to ignore the hisses and groans than Reid tried in vein to hide as she worked. She sat down next to him to clean off his back. Luckily – if that word could be used in this situation – the bullet had gone through. At least it wasn't still inside.

"That's the best I can do." She said, taping a dressing to his back. "I'll go see if I've got anything for you to wear." She gave him a kiss on the forehead and left again. She returned a few minutes later with an old t-shirt. "I use this to sleep in." She said, helping him pull the dark blue and over washed t-shirt over his head. She headed into the kitchen to fetch him a glass of water.

"Thank you." Reid called, gently leaning back into the sofa. Although his side still hurt he felt better just for having had it cleaned. It had almost stopped bleeding too which was hopefully a good sign. "What did you want to show me?" He took the water off her and drank some of it, not realising how thirsty he was.

"Little sips," Garcia said, taking the glass off him and placing it on the table next to him. She went to her bag and pulled out a USB stick. She then fetched her laptop form behind the sofa and started it up. "You ok?" She asked, knowing it was a stupid question but wanting to make sure all the same.

Reid nodded before letting out a sigh. "I will be." He said, trying his best to smile at her.

She smiled back before turning to face her laptop. "Ok," She said. She had calmed down a little, but she still wanted to just shove Reid in her car and drive him to see a doctor. She fought the urge and concentrated on the task at hand. "This is the video from your apartment." She said, playing it from a few seconds before Reid appeared.

The two watched as Reid opened the door and disappeared out of sight into the building. A few seconds later a man appeared out of the shadows. He was about the same height as Reid but much broader. He was wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap. As he approached the camera his hand went up and suddenly the image turned black. "Suspicious, eh?" Garcia said, looking at Reid who nodded. "But then we saw this." She started to play the video from the other apartment block.

"Where did you get this?" Reid asked, his voice quiet and soft.

"From Bedworth Heights Apartments." Garcia told him. "This is the guy who rented the apartment Hotch and Morgan found you in. It was rented to Charles Thomas."

"The guy next door called me Charlie." Reid said, resting his head in his right hand and closing his eyes.

Garcia fought down the panic that rose in her when she saw Reid grimace in pain again. "Erm... yea." She turned back to her laptop. "The guy," She pulled up the two still images next to each other. "It's the same guy. I... I think."

Reid opened his eyes and looked at the screen. "He's..." He furrowed his brow, confused. "So I'm not crazy?" He asked, looking at Garcia and sounding hopeful.

Garcia let another tear fall down her cheek and smiled. "No, sweetheart." She said, fighting the urge to hug him in case she hurt him more. "We think you're being set up."

A smile spread across his face. "I'm not crazy." He repeated before he turned to look at her. "We?"

"Us." She said, "The team." She smiled sadly. "We just don't know who by. The guy who did kill the girl and Officer Rothbarth..."

"He's dead?" Reid asked, looking away from her.

Garcia nodded sadly.

Reid sighed and looked back at her. "Can you..." He coughed a shut his eyes tight against the pain that flared up in his side. He hissed through gritted teeth. "Erm... can you zoom in on his face?" He asked, pointing at the man on the laptop screen.

Garcia pressed a few buttons and the man's face appeared much closer.

"Oh my God..." Reid muttered. He looked at Garcia then back to the screen. "It's Officer Clarridge."

"What!" Garcia shrieked looking at the screen. "The cop that got shot!"

"You have to tell Hotch." Reid said, "You have to go back to the BAU and..."

"I can't leave you, Reid. You're hurt and you..."

"Garcia," Reid interrupted. "You have to tell Hotch. I'll be ok."

Garcia looked at the screen then at Reid and nodded. She disconnected the USB stick and put it back in her bag. "I'll be back as soon as I can, or I'll send someone over." Reid when to protest but she cut him off. " If you need me, you phone me." She said, sternly. She handed him a blanket from off the other sofa and kissed him on the forehead again. "You stay here, and stay safe. You promise?"

He nodded. Garcia hated to leave him. He was hurt and he needed help. But if she stayed here, then she wouldn't be able to tell Hotch they knew who was framing Reid. She could just call him, but she couldn't tell him Reid was at her apartment. And why would she be looking at the case if her place was flooded? She'd have to go back to the BAU and pretend she'd made the connection on her computer their. "Ok," She said, sighing and picking up her keys. "You... You just be ok. Ok?" He nodded at her again and she left.

Reid waited until he'd heard the front door click shut and rested back on the sofa. God his side hurt. At least now they had a suspect. He groaned as he tried to lie down on the sofa, managing it eventually. He felt tired. He just wanted to sleep and wake up and find this had all been some weird dream.

(((((())))))

"Hey, Garcia!" JJ called from the break room as she saw the tech enter the bull pen. "You're back." She walked over to the other woman. "God, Garcia," She said, looking at he hands. "What happened?"

Garcia looked down at her hands. They were covered in dried blood. Reid's blood. "Oh my God." She said. She turned and ran to the bathroom.

She ran over to the nearest sink and began washing her hands, crying as she did so. JJ quickly followed her in. "Garcia?" She asked gently. "Where did you go?"

"Home." Garcia sobbed. "That bit was true." She continued scrubbing her hands.

JJ walked to stand next to her. "Garcia..."

"Reid called me." Garcia said, turning the tap off and resting her hands on the edge of the sink. She turned to look at the blonde woman. "I... he..." She shook her head. "He asked me to look at the CCTV from his apartment entrance and there was a guy who followed him in but he blacked out the camera. He..." She started crying again. "It was the same guy that rented the apartment."

"Where's the blood from, Garcia?" JJ asked.

Garcia began to cry even harder. "Reid..." She looked down at her hands again. "He got shot." She managed to sob out.

JJ tried to speak but couldn't. "He..." She tried but nothing came out.

"Is he ok?" Prentiss' voice came from over by the door. The two women turned to look at her questioningly. "I saw you two come running in here and I followed you." She looked down at the floor as if ashamed she'd been caught spying. "Sorry."

Garcia tried her best to wipe away some of her tears from her mascara stained cheeks. "I did what I could but he won't go to a hospital. He's at my apartment."

"You left him?" JJ asked. Her eyes were starting to fill with tears but she refused to let them fall. Falling apart wouldn't help Spencer.

"I have to show Hotch the video. Reid ...ID'd the guy as... as Officer Clarridge." She managed to say between hitched breaths.

"Clarridge?" Prentiss asked. "He was one of the arresting officers."

"Makes sense." JJ said. "He must have drugged Reid or knocked him out. He shot Rothbarth, moved Reid then shot himself to make his story believable." He sighed. "One of us needs to be with Reid." She said running a hand through her hair.

"Why don't we just tell Hotch?" Prentiss asked, looking puzzled. "If he's hurt he needs help."

"I tried to tell him that," Garcia said. "But he doesn't want to implicate any of us till we can prove he didn't do anything."

"I'll go," JJ said, looking at Garcia. "I'll tell Hotch that Will is out of town and Henry's babysitter's sick or something. That was I can get out of here for the rest of the day." She looked at Prentiss. "I'm not really doing much here anyways. Apart from getting mad at everyone for saying Reid's crazy." She glanced at Prentiss, who quickly looked down at the floor.

"Ok..." Garcia said, looking at herself in the mirror and attempting to make herself look presentable. "Here are my keys," She said, handing her the set. "Take care of him." She smiled sadly before leaving the bathroom. Prentiss smiled at her a little before following the tech out of the room.

(((((())))))

"I don't know how I didn't recognise him before." Hotch said, studying the two images of the man. He ran a hand down his face. "We talked to him earlier and didn't even pick up on anything."

"So do we bring him in?" Rossi asked. "I mean we got enough here to bring his statement about Reid shooting him into question."

"Morgan, you go to the hospital and pick Clarridge up." Hotch said, looking up at the younger man. He was fixated on a spot on the table, staring at it intently. "Morgan?"

"I though he did it." Morgan said, not looking up. "This morning, for a few minutes," he shook his head and looked at Hotch. "I actually let the though cross my mind that he was crazy and had killed that girl." He laughed, although it was full of sadness. "How could I do that?"

"Morgan..." Prentiss began, but was unsure of what to say.

"The though crossed my mind too," Rossi said. "I'm not proud of it but I can't pretend it didn't."

"I think it crossed everyone's mind," Garcia said. "It's understandable, I guess." She shrugged. She didn't need to say more. They all knew about Reid's Mom and that there was always the possibility, however slim, that Reid would one day find out he had inherited her illness.

"It never crossed your mind." Prentiss said, suddenly feeling guilty about questioning Reid's innocence and sanity. "Or JJ's."

"Look, what we said and what we though had happened." Hotch cut in. "We need to find Clarridge, bring him in and put an end to this."

Prentiss and Garcia shared looks. There was part of that plan Hotch had missed. They needed to get Reid to a hospital.

(((((())))))

She watched the FBI Analyst leave her apartment. She'd followed Agent Reid since he'd left the other apartment. She'd seen him get shot. She'd followed him as he ran. She'd followed him in the cab. She'd followed him for years.

Now she sat, waiting outside the apartment of his friend. She looked at her watch. The Analyst had left fifteen minutes ago. She'd almost be at Quantico now. She stood and made her way into the apartment block. She smiled to herself a little at finding the door unlocked.

She entered the apartment and walked slowly into the lounge. She smiled as she saw a sleeping - or possible unconscious - Agent Reid on the sofa. She sat on the free sofa and watched him. She'd have to wait until he woke up, otherwise this was all pointless.

(((((())))))

**Ooh... Hope that was ok? Struggled with that a bit. Didn't want Garcia to freak out too much – she still had to be useful :) Hope you enjoyed!**

**Might not be able to update for a few days :( Me just getting better from Chicken Pox, and the twins having summer colds and the hubby having a broken collar bone (silly man broke it playing football! Or soccer... you know what I mean!) is making for an unhappy and hectic household! Will be back soon though! Don't forget me! Hehe :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor and I making any money from this story.**

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and adds! I just noticed something – In Series One when Gideon is on crutches for an episode they say he's not allowed out in the field on crutches, but is Series Five when Reid is on crutches they let him go with them : / Oh well...**

**WANTED – Chapter Six**

Prentiss glanced down at her mobile for the hundredth time since JJ had left. She'd promised to call as soon as she'd gotten to Garcia's apartment. Prentiss looked up at the clock on the wall. JJ had been gone almost half an hour.

She was sat at her desk in the Bull Pen. Morgan and Rossi had left to speak to Clarridge who had been discharged from hospital but was apparently at the Police Station talking with his Superior Officer about what had happened and when he could return to work. If he returned to work...

Hotch was in his office looking over the autopsy reports for the three victims and Officer Rothbarth. Garcia, being unable to hide her concern for Reid from the others, had locked herself away in her room.

Prentiss jumped when her cell rang and she saw JJ's name flash up on the screen. "Hey, JJ."

"Hey," JJ's voice came from the other end, sounding annoyed. "I'm not there yet. I got stuck in traffic. I'm moving now but I'm still about fifteen minutes away."

Prentiss sighed. "Ok. Well, I guess you'll still be there before any of us can be." Even if Prentiss left now and hit no traffic JJ would still be there before her.

"Do you think we should just call an ambulance to pick him up?" JJ asked. She didn't know what state Reid would be in when she got there and it scared her to think of what she might find.

Prentiss though for a moment. "I don't know, JJ." She said sadly. "Garcia doesn't really know how bad it is. She said it had stopped bleeding though." She sighed. She hated not knowing what to do. "Morgan and Rossi are probably at the station with Clarridge now. If they can get him to confess then..." She trailed off.

"Ok." JJ said, sighing loudly. "I guess we can wait. From what Garcia was saying he really doesn't wanna go to hospital until he knows he won't get locked up. But if I get there and he's in a bad way I'm taking him regardless."

Prentiss smiled at the motherly tone in JJ's voice. "I think that's a good call." She said. "I'll go and let Garcia know. Call me when you get there."

"Will do." JJ said before hanging up.

(((((())))))

Morgan and Rossi stood outside the interview room which currently contained Officer Clarridge. They had spoken to the Desk Sergeant, and then the Lieutenant, and eventually been allowed to speak to him. The two men shared a look before entering the room.

"Officer Clarridge," Rossi said, sitting down opposite him. "I'm Agent Rossi and I believe you've met Agent Morgan." He nodded towards Morgan who was standing behind him.

"Agents," Clarridge greeted, nodding them. "What's this about? I gave a statement to Agent Hotchner." He said, looking from Rossi to Morgan, then back to Rossi.

"Yea, about that," Rossi said pulling the still images from the two videos out of the file on the table. He lay them on the table so that Clarridge could see them. "What were you doing at Agent Reid's apartment the night Caitlin Harris was killed?"

"That's not me." Clarridge said, not even looking at the photo.

"Oh, ok." Rossi said, looking at him. "Can you tell me what you were doing renting an apartment in a false name the other side of town?"

"That's not me." Clarridge said again, still not looking at the photos.

"Must just look like you, eh?" Rossi said, putting the photo's back in the file. Morgan remained silent.

"How's your arm?" Rossi asked.

"Hurts." Clarridge replied simply.

"Sorry about your partner." Rossi offered. "Must be tough."

Clarridge shrugged. "I didn't know him that well."

"Come on, Man." Morgan spoke for the first time. "You work together all day, day in day out. You gotta be hurting that he's gone."

"I guess so." Clarridge said, shrugging a little.

Before anyone could speak, Rossi's phone rang.

(((((())))))

Hotch was sat in his office reading through the four autopsy reports. The three women had been killed the same way. All .38 bullets, all strangled. Officer Rothbarth had died as a result of his wounds. Hotch read through them again.

"Angela Roberts," He read aloud. "Based on the angle of the bullet the killer was left..." Hotch stopped reading. He picked up another file. "Based on the angle of entry the killer was left handed." He said, reading it aloud again. He picked up another. Left handed killer. He picked up Officer Rothbarth's file. "Based on the angle of entry the bullet was fired by a left handed killer." He read again.

He picked up his phone and called Rossi. "He was left handed." He said when the call was answered.

"Sorry, what?" Rossi asked, sounding confused.

"On the autopsy reports. All the bullets were fired by someone who was left handed. Reid is right handed."

"Ok." Rossi said, understanding. If Clarridge was left handed, it would implicate him more. The fact that it was his right arm that had been injured would suggest he had shot himself with his left hand. "I'll call you back."

With that, the two men hung up.

(((((())))))

"So," Rossi said, looking back at Clarridge. "Lucky he shot you in your right arm, eh?"

Clarridge glared at him. "Lucky?" He asked. "Lucky I got shot?"

"Grazed." Morgan said, quietly under his breath, but just loud enough for the others to hear.

Clarridge ignored him and continued to look at Rossi. "Why do you say that?"

"You're left handed, right?" He asked, pointing at Clarridge's uninjured arm.

"And?" Clarridge asked, looking confused. "What's that got to so with anything?"

"Well," Rossi said, leaning back in his chair. "The killer was left handed." He smiled a little. "The three women were shot by a left handed killer. And the bullet that killed Officer Rothbarth? That was fired by a left handed shooter too."

"And?" Clarridge asked again.

Morgan noticed the small flicker of worry in the Officer's eyes. "Agent Reid is right handed."

"There are a lot if left handed people out there." Clarridge said, clearing his throat a little. He was starting to get nervous and Morgan and Rossi knew it.

"It's only a matter of time before we find more evidence linking you to these crimes." Rossi said, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table, "I'm willing to bet you've got a .38 at home. Am I right?"

"So what if I have?" Clarridge said. He was trying to stay calm, but cracks in his demeanour were starting to show.

"You're a cop killer, Man." Morgan said. "You know what happens to cops who kill cops." Morgan leant forward and rested his hands on the table next to Rossi. "You help us, we can help you."

Clarridge looked down at the floor, but remained silent.

"We know it was you." Morgan said, his gaze not leaving the Police Officer.

"It'll look better on you if you help us out." Rossi added.

"I..." Clarridge cleared his throat again. "She gave me half a mil..." He said not looking up.

"Who? What for?" Rossi asked.

"I never asked her name and she never told me." He still didn't look up. "I... I killed the first two. Angela and Martina. She told me I could cover my own tracks, I just needed to frame this guy Reid." He looked up at them, but didn't speak.

Morgan shook his head. "So you set him up?"

"I followed him for a few days, to his apartment. I rented another one. She told me too." He looked down again. "I followed him in, drugged him. I scratched the side of his neck with a false nail. I glued the nails onto the girl, Caitlin, after she was dead." He looked up at Rossi. "That was her idea too. At the station, I...erm... I shot Rothbarth, drugged Reid then took him to the apartment. You can work out the rest." He looked down again.

"Can you tell us what she looked like?" Rossi asked. "The woman who paid you?"

"Thirties." Clarridge answered. "She was short and slim. Dark hair." He shrugged. "That's it."

"You're going away for a long time." Morgan said, before heading out of the room.

"You said you'd help me." Clarridge said, looking at Rossi.

Rossi nodded. "We did." He said, standing. "We helped you to confess your sins and be a better person." He smiled at him and left. They'd done it. Clarridge had confessed to killing the woman and Rothbarth. And although they didn't yet know who 'she' was, if there was a she, it meant that Reid was innocent. He'd been set up. Rossi pulled out his cell to cal Hotch.

(((((())))))

Reid stirred on the sofa. How long had he been asleep for? He tired to sit up, forgetting few a moment about his wounded side. His right hand flew to his side to hold it and he let out a small gasp.

"Easy, Spencer." He heard a female voice say, pushing him back down onto the sofa.

"Garcia?" He asked, opening his eyes to look at her. The woman smiling at him was not Garcia. Or JJ, or Prentiss. He had no idea who she was. She looked a little older than Reid, but not much. She was quite petite with dark brown hair that rested on her shoulders. "Do I know you?" He asked. Was she a friend of Garcia's who she'd called? And if not, what was she doing here? And how did she know who he was?

"Oh I'm sorry," She smiled at him. "I'm Elizabeth." She looked at the position he was lying in. "Do you want me to help you sit up?"

Reid didn't, but he felt quite venerable lying down. He made the effort to sit up by himself and let her help him with the last part. "Sorry," He said, looking at her. "But do I know you?"

She smiled at him. "No, you don't. But I think you knew my Dad?" She looked puzzled for a moment. "But you might not remember him too well." She went on. "I know your Mom knew my Dad, defiantly."

"And your Dad is?" Reid asked. He was starting to worry a little bit. Although Elizabeth hadn't done anything wrong so far there was something unnerving about her.

"Oh he's dead now." She said. "He died years ago." She smiled sadly. "But I only found that out a few months ago. When I was little, I was six," She went on. "My Dad disappeared. He and my Mom didn't live together and she said he'd just taken off because he was a looser." She shrugged. "But then I found out he died."

"I'm sorry." Reid said, not really sure what was going on or what this had to do with him.

"He was murdered, actually." She said, sadly. "But it was covered up because people though he was a bad guy. That's he'd hurt a little boy." She shook her head. "But he was my Dad, and I loved him."

Reid watched her silently. His side was hurting, but not as much as it had been. He was more confused than anything.

"They buried him in the dessert," Elizabeth continued. "Actually, I think you met him once." She said, looking at him.

Reid noticed her expression had changed. Her eyes had narrowed and her mouth had turned into a small frown. Reid though for a few seconds before the penny dropped. "Your dad was Gary Michaels." He said, looking her in the eyes.

She nodded. "And your family covered up his murder. That makes them no better than the man who killed him."

"Your dad killed and raped a six year old boy." Reid said, calmly. He didn't even know that Michael's had a daughter. And what did she want with him? Why was she here? He though about all the events that had happened that day. "Did you do all this?" He asked her.

She nodded. "I didn't want to kill your parents. I wanted to take away what they cared about, like they did to me. It took some doing, I don't mind telling you." She smiled a little. "Finding someone to actually do the dirty work for me was the hard part. I've been following you, for a while." She sighed. "And now, after all the planning, all the hard work, we've reached the end."

"Why?" Reid asked, trying to keep his voice strong despite the pain and worry that was coursing through him. "Why not just kill me if you wanted revenge?"

"Please," She rolled her eyes. "Look at me. Do I look strong enough to kill a man? I know you're not a big guy but you're like fifteen inches taller than me!" She laughed a little. "No, I wanted to destroy your life the way you destroyed my life. I spent years thinking my Dad had abandoned me."

"He was a killer." Reid said simply.

"He was my Dad!" She shouted. She sighed. "But now, we reach our conclusion. Wracked with guilt over killing the three women and that poor, unfortunate Police Officer, hurt and alone, you see no other option than to take your own life." She picked up a bag that was next to her feet. She pulled out a pair of gloves and started to pull them on.

Reid panicked. What was he meant to do? He couldn't run... he wasn't strong enough. The same was true if he tried to fight her off. He took a chance and kicked the bag out of her hands. It sent a shockwave of pain through his side, and caused Elizabeth to swear at him.

"You stupid, stupid man." She said, swiftly moving over to when Reid half lay, half sat on the sofa. "I'm going to enjoy this." With that, she punched him in his injured side.

Reid let out a cry of pain as he felt the wound start to bleed again. He tried to move but couldn't. Elizabeth moved to pick up her bag and pulled out a knife. She moved over to him and punched his side again. "Goodbye, Spencer Reid." She said, smiling as she lowered the blade to his wrist.

(((((())))))

**Sneaky chapter while boys are all asleep (yes, all three) Hope you enjoyed! More soon, hopefully! Let me know what you think, or if you're still enjoying!**


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor and I making any money from this story.**

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and adds! This could be the last chapter, not sure yet. Maybe last but one? Guess we'll find out together :)**

**WANTED – Chapter Seven**

Hotch hung up his phone and left his office heading towards Prentiss' desk. "Hey, Prentiss," He called. "Where's Garcia?"

Prentiss looked up from the paperwork she was completing. "In her office," She looked at him puzzled. "Why?"

"Clarridge confessed." Hotch said.

Prentiss wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she saw a small smile creep across her superiors face. "He did?"

"Yea." Hotch said, nodding. "Apparently he was paid to set Reid up. Now all we need to do if find Reid."

Prentiss bit her bottom lip. "I, erm... I know where he is." She admitted.

Hotch didn't speak, but titled his head to the side in a manor that made words unnecessary.

"I'll get Garcia." Prentiss said, standing from her desk.

"Meet me in my office." Hotch said, turning and walking back up the stairs.

(((((())))))

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, Sir!" Garcia sobbed, sitting on the sofa in Hotch's office. She had recounted how Reid had called her, how he'd been hurt and how she'd lied to get out of work to help him.

"It's ok, Garcia." Hotch said, "So JJ's over there now?" He asked, turning to face Prentiss.

"Yep." Prentiss nodded.

"Ok," Hotch said, picking up his phone. "You call JJ, let her know we got Clarridge. I'll call an ambulance, get one over to Garcia's place."

Prentiss nodded again, pulling out her cell and leaving the office. Hotch looked back over at Garcia who had stopped crying, but was still clearly shaken. "I understand why you did what you did, Garcia." He said gently. "Thank you."

Garcia smiled at him as she stood. "Thank you, Sir." She said, leaving the office. Reid would be ok, the bad guy would go to prison and her team, her friends, wouldn't be mad at her for hiding the truth.

(((((())))))

JJ got out of her car as her cell rang. She's managed to get to Garcia's in just under ten minutes, much to her own relief. She looked at the name on the screen. "Hey, Em." She said as she answered.

"Hey," Prentiss said over the phone. "Clarridge confessed. And Hotch knows where you are. He's called an ambulance to meet you there."

"Thank God," JJ said, glad that she would at least be able to tell Reid that Clarridge had been arrested for the murders. "OK, well I'm here now." She said as she approached the door. "I'll call you in a few, let you know how he is."

"Ok," Prentiss said simply, now sure what else to say. "Tell him..." She tried, but couldn't come up with the words. She sighed. "Tell him we..." Why was this so difficult for her? She sighed again in frustration.

"I got it, Em." JJ said, understanding that showing emotion was not one of Prentiss' strong points. "Speak soon." She hung up the phone and entered Garcia's apartment. "Hey, Reid!" She called, shutting the door behind her. She got no answer. "Spence!" She called again, panicking a little. Why wasn't he answering? Was he asleep? Had he passed out? Or worse... "Spence!" She called again, entering the living room. "Oh my God!" She half screamed, running to the sofa.

There was blood, so much blood. And Reid was in the middle of it all. But it wasn't coming from his side, or at least it didn't look like it was. His left arm was covered. It was then that JJ noticed the slit that ran from his wrist up towards the crook in his arm.

"Spence?" She said, gently, placing her hands around his face. "Spencer, come on... Please. Open your eyes, Spence." She said, tears falling from her eyes.

Reid opened his eyes and looked at her, struggling to focus. "Behind..." He said weakly.

"Behind?" JJ repeated. She quickly turned in time to see a small dark haired woman run at her from the corner of the room, knife in hand. She threw herself out of the way, letting out a small cry as she felt the blade slice through her upper arm.

She turned to face her attacker. The dark haired woman was much smaller than JJ, who was still on the floor. "You're not supposed to be here." The dark haired woman said, gripping the knife in her hand tighter.

She ran at JJ again, but the blonde haired Agent was ready this time. She rolled herself out of the way, letting her attacker pass her. As she did, JJ kicked out her leg, tripping over the other woman.

JJ stood and quickly covered the distance to the other woman. She kicked the knife away from her, pulling out her handcuffs and cuffing her hands behind her back. She rolled her over to see that she was unconscious. She was bleeding from a cut above her right eye and JJ assumed she'd hit her head off the corner of the coffee table. "Spence." She whispered to herself, turning back to the sofa.

She knelt down beside him. "Spence..." She said. She held his bleeding wrist tightly in her hand to try and stop some of the bleeding. "Spence, look at me." She needed to call an ambulance. No, wait. Hotch had called one, isn't that what Prentiss had said? Yes... He had. "Spence." She tried again, tears staining her cheeks.

Reid opened his eyes and looked at her. "I didn't..." He said, barely a whisper.

"We know, Spence," She said, gripping his wrist tighter. "It's ok. We know it wasn't you." She closed her eyes for a brief second, before opening them to look at him again. "Just stay awake, ok, Spence?"

"Michaels..." Reid said, before closing his eyes.

"No!" JJ shouted. "No, Spence." She shook his slightly, not loosening her grasp on his wrist. "Stay awake, come on." She tried to control the tears that were falling from her eyes but failed. How could this be happening? How had any of this happened? "Please..."

Reid muttered something, but JJ couldn't make it out. She was about to speak when she heard sirens now far away. "See, Spence," She said gently. "The ambulance is nearly here."

He didn't respond this time, he didn't even more. "No," JJ sobbed, still not letting go of his wrist. Her hands were soaked in blood, the blood of her friend. She didn't know what to do except hold on tighter. Her finger were staring to turn white, although she couldn't see for all the blood, and she'd forgotten about the cut she'd received to her arm. "Spence?" How much blood did a person have in them? How much could they loose before they died? She knew Reid would have the answer. If he'd just wake up. "Spence?" She tried again, although barley audible.

She wasn't sure how long she waited. It seemed like a lifetime. She just sat there, holding on for dear life. She couldn't let go. To let go would be to admit defeat, to let Reid die. After another eternity the door barged open and the Paramedics rushed in. They moved JJ out of the way and began working. JJ watched in stunned silence, forgetting about her surroundings completely. She needed to tell the team. She needed to stay with Reid. She needed to take the woman who attacked her and Reid to a police station.

She didn't know what to do.

(((((())))))

The team sat in the waiting room. JJ had called Prentiss as from the ambulance. MPDC had accompanied the ambulance to Garcia's apartment and had turned up a few minutes after the paramedics. They had stayed with the Brunette attacker until another ambulance had turned up to take her to hospital also.

JJ stared at her hands. She'd washed them. She'd washed them what felt like a hundred times but she could still see, still feel Reid's blood all over them. She'd been patched up by am ER doctor. The cut on her arm hadn't been too deep and didn't need stitches. So now she sat, staring at her hands, silently crying.

Hotch was sat next to her. He didn't know what to do, what to say. And he found that in itself unnerving. JJ had told them about what had happened when she'd found Reid. He ran a hand through his hair. It felt like they'd been waiting for days.

Morgan stood and walked to get himself a glass of water. He drank half of it and through the rest away. He sat back down and sighed. He didn't know what he was feeling. Worry, guilt, anger. All of the above? He was angry with himself, for thinking, however briefly, that Reid would be capable of killing anyone. What sort of a team mate, or a friend, did that make him?

Prentiss was staring into space. She still wasn't quite sure if today had actually happened, or if she was stuck in some sort of weird nightmare. And she thought he'd done it... for the briefest of moments. How could she have even thought about doubting Reid? She closed her eyes and sighed. Hoping he would forgive her.

Rossi was sat across from Hotch. He could tell the day had taken its toll on the team. It had taken its toll on him. He should have known, the second anyone even suggested that Reid was a killer, that something was off. The kid didn't have it in him. He wished he'd been more like Hotch, or Garcia or JJ. Not one of them, not even for a second had thought Reid was capable of such a thing. So did he, if he though about it. But that thought had still been there, in the back of his mind. And he'd listened to it. He hoped he had the chance to make it up to the younger man.

Garcia was sat next to Morgan. She had been crying since they got to the hospital. The bad guys had been caught, Reid had been cleared. But this wasn't meant to happen. He was meant to be ok. He had to be ok. She cried harder. This was her fault. If she'd stayed with him instead of going back to Quantico then that woman would have never hurt him...

"It's ok, Garcia." Morgan said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "He'll be ok."

Garcia shook her head. "I shouldn't have left him." She said, quietly.

Before anyone else could speak, a doctor walked into the waiting room, chart in hand. He looked around the room at the waiting families. He glanced down at the chart again. "Spencer Reid?" He called.

(((((())))))

**Ok, one more chapter I think. Just a quick question – got another story idea but it's kind of a supernatural/sci-fi type story... Dunno if anyone would be interested? Or would give it a go at least? Would be a team fic, but a little Reid Centric. Don't wanna say too much but just testing the waters, so to speak! **

**Should hopefully be able to update tomorrow :) Hope you enjoyed!**


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor and I making any money from this story.**

**A/N: So this is the end! Thanks you so much to everyone who reviewed! Hope you all enjoy and sorry for all the cliff-hangers over the last few chapters :) Hehehe... Medical notes at the end of the chapter cos I don't wanna give anything away ;)**

**WANTED – Chapter Eight**

The team silently followed the doctor into a more private waiting area. The heavy silence that had encompassed the group in the main waiting area followed them through the double doors.

"Please," the doctor said. "Take a seat." He waited for the group to sit down before continuing. "I'm Doctor Hall. I'm the doctor that treated Spencer." The middle aged man said.

"Is he Ok?" Hotch asked, seemingly the only person who could find their voice.

Hall took a deep breath before speaking. "Spencer suffered extreme blood loss. His body had gone into Hypovolemic Shock. He went into cardiac arrest when he arrived at the hospital." He waited a few moments to allow the group to absorb the information. "He's been given a blood transfusion, but until we can get some more type-specific blood from the blood bank he'll be very weak."

"But he's alive?" JJ asked, her voice a mix of fear and hope.

Hall nodded. "The bullet missed his organs and was mainly tissue damage which had been repaired in surgery." He explained. "The blood loss is our main cause for concern."

"But he'll be ok?" Garcia asked, her voice barely a whisper. She'd managed to stop crying but her cheeks were still stained with tears.

"Spencer lost over thirty percent of his blood. He's very lucky to be alive at all." Hall said, looking around the group. "Having said that, all of his organ functions seem to be ok. We'll monitor them for a few days just to make sure. "

"He'll be ok though?" Hotch asked, running a hand through his hair.

Hall nodded. "He's sedated at the moment." He answered. "Like I said he'll feel weak for a few days until his haemoglobin count settles down to its normal level, and he'll need more blood after we receive the type specific from the blood bank. We'll keep him in for a while to monitor him but he should be fine." He smiled at the group, glad that he was able to give them good news.

"Thank you, doctor." Hotch said, sighing in relief.

"There is one more thing." Hall said, hesitating before he spoke. "Attempted suicides do require a mandatory Psych Evaluation. The injury to his wrist..."

"He didn't do it." Morgan interrupted.

"He was attacked," Rossi explained. "It was made to look self inflicted."

The doctor nodded. "I'm sorry," he said. "I have to ask." The group murmured their understanding. "I'll send a nurse in to fetch you when it's ok to visit him."

The group thanked the doctor again and he left them in silence.

(((((())))))

A few hours later a nurse had come to tell them they could visit Reid. Although at first the nurse had insisted that they visit one at a time, the team – with a little nagging from Reid too – had managed to convince the nurse to allow them all in together, on the condition they stay no longer than ten minutes.

Hotch was first in the room, followed by Prentiss. She was shocked by how pale he looked. He looked as if he hadn't slept for days. He was propped up a little in the bed. A large bandage covered his left wrist; an IV was attached to his arm as well as several wires which ran from under his hospital gown to nearby monitors.

Morgan, who had entered the room behind Rossi and Garcia, was the first to speak. "You look like hell, Man." He said, smiling at the younger man.

"Thanks." Reid replied. His voice was quiet, just above a whisper, but they could all hear the relief in it. Clarridge had been arrested, as had Elizabeth Michaels. Everyone knew that he hadn't been on some deranged killing rampage. He smiled the team.

"How you feeling?" JJ asked, entering after Morgan and walking to stand next to Hotch at the head of the bed.

Reid shrugged. "Tired," He admitted. "But ok." He was just glad it was over. It had only been one day. That was all. One day that had turned his life upside down and nearly killed him. But now it was over.

"Clarridge is being charged with all four murders." Rossi said, "The women and Rothbarth."

"Yea," Prentiss said. "And Michaels is being evaluated as we speak to see if she's mentally sound. But chances are she'll go away for a long time too." She smiled and patted Reid on his leg. "I'm glad you're ok." She said.

Reid smiled before his face turned serious. He turned to face Garcia. "I think I need to but you a new sofa." He said, half smiling.

"Sweetheart," Garcia replied, "I need a new apartment!" She smiled. "No way am I staying where someone tried to kill my little G-Man." She shook her head. "Nope."

"Sorry, I..." Reid began, but Garcia cut him off.

"No, no, no." She said. "No sorrys, ifs, buts or maybes. But you will help me go apartment hunting when you get out of this place." She smiled again.

Reid smiled back, chuckling a little. He was glad to see the team, that Clarridge and Michaels had been caught, but he was just so tired.

Hotch noticed the younger man seemed to be struggling to stay awake. "I think we should all let Reid get some rest." He said to the team, "We'll come by tomorrow." He said to Reid.

"Thanks, Hotch." Reid said, looking awkward for a few moments. "For not just giving up on me."

Hotch smiled one of his rare smiles. "Any time, Reid. Just try not to get accused of murder again?"

"Yea," Prentiss chuckled. "Especially not by the daughter of a dead murderer intent on destroying your life..."

"You say that like there's a good way to be accused of murder." Rossi said, smiling at the dark haired woman.

"See you, Reid." Hotch said, still smiling at the comments made by his team.

"See you tomorrow." Prentiss added.

"Yea," Rossi said, "Take it easy, kiddo."

The three left the room, leaving Garcia, JJ and Morgan. Reid turned to face Garcia. "Thank you." He said to her.

He didn't need to say more. She knew what he meant. She let a tear fall down her cheek. She thought back to that afternoon when he'd turned up at her apartment, covered in blood. She dreaded the thought of going back there, knowing what she would find. She bent down and kissed his forehead. "Anytime, cupcake." She said. "But just try not to get shot again, ok?" She smiled. He smiled back and she left the room.

JJ watched Garcia go and turned to face the bed. "Reid... I..." She had hardly spoken since they had been at the hospital. She was still unable to get the image of Reid, surrounded in blood, out of her head. She still couldn't get rid of the feeling of dread and fear she felt when she thought she'd been too late, that the paramedics wouldn't make it in time. She still had to keep glancing at her hands to remind herself that she had washed the blood off and that they were at the hospital and Reid was ok. He would be ok. She wiped away a tear before it could fall. "I'm so glad you're ok." She said, her voice cracking slightly at the end of her sentence. She kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, ok." She smiled at him.

Reid smiled back. "Thank you." He said, his voice still quiet. "For..." He shrugged. "You know." He couldn't remember much after Elizabeth had attacked him, but he could remember JJ's voice. He didn't know what she'd been saying to him, but he knew she'd been there.

She smiled at him again, saying her goodbyes and leaving the room.

Morgan watched her go and then turned to face Reid. "I'm glad you're ok." He said, moving closer to the bed.

"So am I." Reid said, closing his eyes. He was tired, he just wanted to sleep.

"I, erm..." Morgan shifted uncomfortable. "I owe you an apology."

"What?" Reid said, sounding confused. He opened his eyes to look at the older Agent.

"I..." He cleared his throat. "I doubted you, Man." He said, looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"Morgan, it's..."

"No," Morgan interrupted. "It's not ok. You're my teammate, my friend. And I..." He looked up at Reid. "I thought the worst thing possible to think about a person. And even if it was only for a split second, which it was, I still doubted you." He smiled sadly. "For a couple of minutes I though you'd lost it and gone off the deep end." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Reid. I don't know..."

"Morgan," Reid interrupted. His voice was still quiet, but Morgan stopped talking. "It's ok. Honestly." He thought for a second about what to say, Morgan watched him silently. "You all know my Mom's sick." He said after a few minutes. "There's always the chance I could be too. It was a conclusion than anyone would have come too." He smiled at the older man. "To tell you the truth, I thought I'd gone mad and done it too at one point so other people thinking it..." He shrugged. "Michaels planned it to look like I'd had some sore of mental break. It's not your fault... and you kept looking." Morgan shifted a little. "You only let it pass through your mind and to be honest, seeing the thing we do?" Reid shrugged.

"Still, Man. I know you. I know you'd never..." Morgan shrugged to finish his sentence.

"Morgan," Reid said, "If you hadn't known me, if I'd just been some guy with mental illness in my family, who's DNA had been found at the crime scene. Who had no memory of where he was at the time of the murder and managed to escape two cops, apparently killing one in the process. Would the though pass your through your mind then?"

Morgan smiled. "Yea, it would."

Reid smiled back. "You don't need to be sorry, Morgan." He said, "Just because you know me didn't make it any less likely. In fact, I think what happened was significantly less likely than that outcome."

Morgan laughed a little. "So we're good?"

Reid nodded. Morgan noticed that the younger man was now fighting to keep his eyes open. "I'll let you get some rest." He said, heading towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" He turned back to face Reid, but he was already asleep. Morgan smiled. "Ok then," He said to himself. "See you tomorrow, kid."

He left the room to find the rest of the team. Reid was ok. He was going to be fine. And he wasn't mad at him. Morgan felt the guilt and anger within him fade a little. The day, possible the worst day he could recall in a long time, was over.

(((((())))))

**You should know by now, I don't have it in me to kill Reid! **

**So, few medical notes: as you know, I'm not a doctor. And although I looked a few things up you may need to suspend belief a little. Now, I also found out that the human body has (on average) 10 pints of blood. You can loose aroung 5% without many side effects, and up to 25% of this and survive (but you'd be pretty sick!) Also, the faster you loose the blood the sicker you'd be. However a woman (I forget where from!) lost 75% of her blood and survived! Wow! And, although the majority of blood groups can receive Type O blood, doctors prefer to give Type-Specific; as your body can reject blood if it's a different group (I didn't know that!) **

**Hope you enjoyed. All your reviews and adds really mean a lot and thank you so much! You'll be hearing from me soon! Until next time, take care! xx**


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